what about the current head of US state? How would you know if he/she isn't in his best condition?
But that is, in fact, one of the reasons for the two man rule: so that just one person being insane isn't enough. Two people would have to be insane: the President and the Secretary of Defense. That at least provides some reduction of risk.
I interpret Major Hering's question as a separate issue from the "Two Person Concept".
At levels below the National Command Authority (NCA, i.e., the President and the SecDef), I agree; the two man rule is just to ensure that, at each level through which the launch order passes, two people have to agree that it's a "valid" launch order, where "valid" means it really does come from NCA and it really was issued intentionally by NCA. The two man rule at all those subordinate levels doesn't tell the two people to ask whether NCA was sane when the order was issued; that's a separate issue.
But at the NCA level, as I noted above, the two man rule does add at least some measure of safeguarding against the President himself being insane, because the SecDef has to agree to issue the order in the first place. That is, he's not just agreeing that yes, the President really does want to launch nuclear weapons; he's agreeing that he, himself, as a separate decision maker, wants to launch nuclear weapons. So if the SecDef is sane, and there isn't a sane reason to launch nuclear weapons, he won't agree to the launch order, even if an insane President wants him to.
It's also worth noting that at the next level down (the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who has to receive the launch order from the President and SecDef), they are, as I understand it, supposed to exercise some judgment about whether the order is valid based on circumstances. For example, suppose an insane President fires his (sane) SecDef when the latter refuses to assent to a launch order. There is an ordered list of people who are "next in line" if someone up the chain is killed or is unavailable; so the President calls the next person on the list and asks them to assent to the launch order. However, even if that person agrees (let's suppose they're insane too), when the two of them transmit the order to the Chairman of the JCS, his first question should be, where's the SecDef? I fired him, says the President. Assuming the Chairman is sane, that in itself would be enough to invalidate the launch order; the President can't just fire the SecDef--he's confirmed by the Senate, and there's a formal process that has to be gone through. (The same goes for all the people on the list, btw--they all have to be confirmed by the Senate, and they can't be summarily fired by the President without due process.)
Of course these sorts of scenarios are the stuff of which thrillers are made (for example, Tom Clancy's The Sum of All Fears); but the point is that officers are supposed to exercise judgment. Which does mean that Major Hering was entirely justified in asking the question he asked.
the President can't just fire the SecDef--he's confirmed by the Senate, and there's a formal process that has to be gone through. (The same goes for all the people on the list, btw--they all have to be confirmed by the Senate, and they can't be summarily fired by the President without due process.)
The rest of your comment is fine, but actually the president can fire any cabinet officer or (almost) any non-judicial appointment at any time. The Supreme Court has agreed that the president has this authority.
Granted, the appointment must be confirmed by the Senate in the first place, but the Senate does not hold a veto on the president removing any of these appointees after confirmation. The impeachment and trial of President Andrew Johnson was based on Congress' attempt to keep him from firing appointees, and that law was later ruled unconstitutional.
actually the president can fire any cabinet officer or (almost) any non-judicial appointment at any time. The Supreme Court has agreed that the president has this authority.
Hm, yes, I see on reading about the Myers v. United States decision that, as usual, Supreme Court jurisprudence makes less sense than it ought to. :-)
I still think, though, that a JCS Chairman in the position I described would question (and would be right to question) a President who conveniently fired a SecDef who did not concur with a nuclear launch order.
But that is, in fact, one of the reasons for the two man rule: so that just one person being insane isn't enough. Two people would have to be insane: the President and the Secretary of Defense. That at least provides some reduction of risk.
I interpret Major Hering's question as a separate issue from the "Two Person Concept".
At levels below the National Command Authority (NCA, i.e., the President and the SecDef), I agree; the two man rule is just to ensure that, at each level through which the launch order passes, two people have to agree that it's a "valid" launch order, where "valid" means it really does come from NCA and it really was issued intentionally by NCA. The two man rule at all those subordinate levels doesn't tell the two people to ask whether NCA was sane when the order was issued; that's a separate issue.
But at the NCA level, as I noted above, the two man rule does add at least some measure of safeguarding against the President himself being insane, because the SecDef has to agree to issue the order in the first place. That is, he's not just agreeing that yes, the President really does want to launch nuclear weapons; he's agreeing that he, himself, as a separate decision maker, wants to launch nuclear weapons. So if the SecDef is sane, and there isn't a sane reason to launch nuclear weapons, he won't agree to the launch order, even if an insane President wants him to.
It's also worth noting that at the next level down (the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who has to receive the launch order from the President and SecDef), they are, as I understand it, supposed to exercise some judgment about whether the order is valid based on circumstances. For example, suppose an insane President fires his (sane) SecDef when the latter refuses to assent to a launch order. There is an ordered list of people who are "next in line" if someone up the chain is killed or is unavailable; so the President calls the next person on the list and asks them to assent to the launch order. However, even if that person agrees (let's suppose they're insane too), when the two of them transmit the order to the Chairman of the JCS, his first question should be, where's the SecDef? I fired him, says the President. Assuming the Chairman is sane, that in itself would be enough to invalidate the launch order; the President can't just fire the SecDef--he's confirmed by the Senate, and there's a formal process that has to be gone through. (The same goes for all the people on the list, btw--they all have to be confirmed by the Senate, and they can't be summarily fired by the President without due process.)
Of course these sorts of scenarios are the stuff of which thrillers are made (for example, Tom Clancy's The Sum of All Fears); but the point is that officers are supposed to exercise judgment. Which does mean that Major Hering was entirely justified in asking the question he asked.